Can I Get a Vaginal Infection During Pregnancy? - EVVY.

During pregnancy, your body is going through a lot of changes that can impact your vaginal microbiome. Fluctuating hormone levels, vaginal mucus production, and lifestyle changes can all impact your vaginal flora. 

While some women may experience vaginal infections during pregnancy, there is always a chance of developing new vaginal infections. In fact, in some cases, your risk may even increase (more about that below).

Five different vaginal infections can affect pregnant women:

• Group B Strep 

• Vulvovaginal candidiasis (vaginal yeast infections)

• Bacterial vaginosis (BV)

• Urinary tract infections (UTIs)

• Aerobic vaginitis (AV).

How to prevent vaginal infections during pregnancy.

Since the hormone changes caused by pregnancy can make you more susceptible to vaginal infections, it’s not always possible to prevent them entirely. But you can do a few things to look after your vaginal microbiome as much as possible.

• Track your discharge. Changes in vaginal discharge are normal during pregnancy, so ask your OB-GYN or healthcare provider what you should look out for. Abnormal-looking and foul-smelling vaginal discharge is often a telltale sign that something’s up, down there.

• Stay up to date with pregnancy check-ups. Throughout your pregnancy, your doctor will screen for infections and make sure both you and the baby are healthy. 

• Keep practicing safe sex. If you’re having sex throughout your pregnancy, keep using barrier methods like condoms and dental dams — especially if you have several sex partners or sleep with a new sexual partner. The goal here isn’t to prevent pregnancy (it’s a bit too late for that) but rather to prevent unwanted pathogens from entering your microbiome and reduce the risk getting a sexually transmitted infection (STI).

• Skip the feminine hygiene products. Despite the convincing marketing, washes, douches, and deodorants can disrupt your microbiome and put you at an increased risk of dysbiosis. Your vagina is self-cleaning and during pregnancy, it’s especially good at keeping out unwanted bacteria. To wash your vulva, you only need some warm water (and hypoallergenic soap at a push).

• Monitor your vaginal microbiome with Evvy. An Evvy membership lets you track changes in your vaginal microbiome overtime, giving you an in depth look at the protective and disruptive microbes and providing you with a personalized care plan to shift your microbiome back into a protected state.

Learn more about all of these Vaginal Infections here.

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Who is the Evvy Vaginal Health Test for?

If you have recurrent symptoms.

Test for 700+ bacteria and fungi with one swab, including those missed by traditional testing.

If you're interested in fertility.

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If you're in menopause.

Discover the microbiome’s role in new discomfort or infections, plus how it’s affected by hormones.